Is Your Band Ready?
by ClarinetQT
Summary: When a new band director comes to town and changes more than just the music, can the seniors find the strength to stand their grown and be the leaders they were meant to be?
1. Seven Months

Tom sat on a drum major podium in front the 130 wind players. They were playing scales and marching back and forth. He was keeping time by beating a steady, moderate tempo on a blue colored block with a drum stick. Occasionally, he spat bits of advice at the wind players. "Point your toes higher!" "Stand up straighter!" "An invisible fishing rod is pulling your head toward the sky!" "Point your horn 15 degrees above level!" He also kept telling them that even though it was only scales, they had to connect and play all the way through the phrases. He plunged his hand through the air to further demonstrate his point. A brown haired girl wearing a metronome around her neck joined him on the podium.

"They have you breathe, you know," she reminded him.

Tom sighed. He was a percussionist. He did not need to breathe when he played his instruments. The girl looked out toward the band but her focus was hazy. She was smiling but Tom still found the sadness behind her determination to make it through the day. How could she be expected to hide her sadness completely? It had only been seven months. And she was only seventeen.

Only nine short years and a few inches of air were separating the pair. He was determined to make this year special for this girl and for the entire band. It was his purpose. No matter how much he wanted to go back to graduate school or audition for the National Symphony Orchestra, he would put everything aside to be the man this band needed him to be. This year belonged to the Stonecroft High School Marching Band.

The August heat was particularly fierce that summer. The morning of the first day of band camp was coming to a close. The band had arrived at the school four hours ago. Tom, the beloved percussion instructor, had greeted them and led them to the parking lot to practice fundamentals. In previous years, the freshmen were required to attend two days of rookie camp so that they would be up to speed when the upperclassmen arrived. This year, however, was a fresh start for everyone. Everyone was going to begin this year together, on the same day.

The morning of the first day of band camp was drawing to a close. Tom stood on the podium to dismiss the band for lunch. They needed the time to gather their thoughts. After the dismissal, the brown hair girl stumbled off the podium and matched Tom's pace as they walked back to the school.

"Madison Brooks!" a dark haired boy hollered after the girl when she reached the school. "The clarinets are going to Pete's today for lunch for section bonding. Come with us!" Madison nodded and followed the boy to his car where 3 freshmen were already crammed into the back seat. She reached for the passenger door and climbed inside.

The dark haired boy settled in the driver's seat next to her. His skin glistened with sweat and he smelled of bug spray and sunscreen. Madison smiled for the first time all morning. He started the car and headed down the street to the local burger restaurant.

"DUNNNNNN DUMMMMM DAAAAAA!" the freshmen clarinet players sang loudly in the band. Madison recognized it as the first movement of the show. They had been practicing. Madison stared out the window and remembered how great it was to be a freshman. No expectations, endless possibilities, and a great big world to explore. And most importantly, no disappointments.

"Tell me what happened," the boy told her. She hated when he could read her mind.

"I'm fine," she told him.

"No you're not."

"Yes I am."

"No you're not."

This was why Patrick Muller was Madison's best friend. He always knew when Madison was in trouble and he was always at her side. The relationship could date all the way back to seventh grade. Today, they began their adventure as seniors. It would be their last adventure before college. It was a journey Madison had looked forward to since they were freshmen. But this year, the backdrop of the adventure was not exactly as Madison had envisioned.

"DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA DA!" the freshman seemed to be singing even louder. One of them was double tonguing. Overachiever, Madison thought.

"Can you guys sing at a more piano dynamic?" Patrick asked them as he slowed down for a stop sign. "And anyone who learns to double tongue any part of the show will be labeled as an overachiever and will be mocked profusely."

"But Jesse said…" a freshman began but Patrick cut him off.

"Jesse is a know-it-all and a show off."

Madison snorted. Jesse McIntire and Patrick Muller were the clarinet section leaders and equally matched in talent. Both of them were aspiring music education majors and were applying to a number of wonderful universities. Jesse's grades were much higher than Patrick's but Patrick had a work ethic and way with children that Madison felt would get him much further in life. All of the seniors got along well with Jesse but no one could resist joking about his sometimes uptight attitude or overachieving tendencies.

Patrick pulled on the parking break, a sign to Madison that the gang had arrived at Pete's Burger Palace. The freshman hurried inside but Madison hesitated. Patrick pulled her in for a hug.

"Madison, you have been looking forward to this year since we were in 7th grade. You have everything you ever wanted. Don't let any drama get in the way of that. I can't promise that it will be easy but I can promise that I will be at your side every day until graduation. You're probably stuck with me much longer than that anyway," he whispered. A car honk caused them to jump apart.

"Senior year!" Chris Blues yelled as he abruptly stopped the car. Half the trombone section practically fell out of the minivan that belonged to Mrs. Blues. He ran to Madison, picked her up, and spun her around. Madison hit Chris on the back and hollered for him to put her down.

"Chris, for goodness sake, put her down!" Amy Trowser said loudly. Chris blushed, put Madison down, and kissed Amy on the cheek. Amy shoved him away playfully.

"Looks like the trombones had the same idea as you guys," Amy said smiling.

"Your section bonding day is usual the first Wednesday of band camp," Patrick said. Madison could tell he wasn't angry. He was simply curious about the change.

"It is," Chris explained, "but we felt, due to recent events, we should have section bonding as soon as possible."

"It's been seven months!" trombone senior Jason Sharp announced. He seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Oh you are just mad that you aren't section leader of the best section ever!" Chris said and punched him in the arm. Then he planted a huge, wet kiss on Amy's forehead.

"And split up you two lovebirds?" Jason said with a raised eyebrow. "I would never."

The clarinets and trombones ordered burgers and found seats without separating by instrument. This seemed to annoy Jason but Madison ignored it. The conversation was light and the sections shared old stories with the freshman for the next hour. Patrick gripped Madison's hand tightly under the table.

When they returned to the school, Madison said goodbye to Amy and Chris. She then followed Patrick and Jesse to the choir room for sectionals.

"Maddie," Patrick said slowly, "maybe you should, you know, stop avoiding him." Madison bit her lip. Jesse directed her toward the storage room where all the uniforms were kept.

Madison hesitated for a moment and then nodded to the clarinet sections leaders. She would have to face him sometime.

"You know where to find us if you need us," Jesse hollered after her.

She pulled on the storage room door to reveal a long, narrow room lined with over 250 uniforms. It was cold and silent except for the shuffling of some paper. A red-headed teenager sat in the middle of the room sorting paper. He did not look up.

She dropped her bag against the wall and approached him. Leave it to Jason to get down to business immediately after lunch. She noticed that he too smelled like sunscreen and bug spray. She could now see that he was sorting stand music into piles by instrument. He still did not look at her. Her unsteady hand reached out to help but he snatched the pile away from her. The movement startled her and she hesitated for a moment before joining him on the floor.

"Madison, look at this crap," he said angrily and shoved a pile of unsorted music into her hands. Madison looked down. A few titles of familiar top 40 hits from the past three decades seemed to smile up at her.

"These look like fun," Madison almost whispered, unsure of why he was upset.

"A student did not arrange them," he explained, crossing his arms over his chest. Madison suddenly understood. Six years ago, the stand tunes the marching band played at halftime were less than satisfactory. A group of talented seniors had taken it upon themselves to arrange classic and modern tunes for the band to play. Incoming underclassman made sure music arranged by graduated seniors lived on and also added their own stand tunes to the collection. The disappointed red-headed boy that sat before her had contributed a number of stand tunes.

"Perhaps we can play them all," Madison suggested. The red-headed boy finally looked up and found Madison's piercing green eyes. "Senior year is not supposed to be about change."

Madison swallowed. He was right. Senior year was supposed to be about going through everything one last time before everyone went separate ways. It was supposed to feel like one last victory lap before everyone was pulled into a world of majors, dorm life, and college football. It was supposed to be their year. But now, with a new band director from a small town in another state, the seniors of the Stonecroft High School Marching Band faced a year with as much uncertainty as the incoming freshmen.

"Jason," Madison whispered but Jason cut of whatever it was she was going to add.

"You should read his biography. He did a lot in Alabama. I reckon we'll meet him tomorrow," he told her a handed her a piece of paper he had printed off the computer. She took it. A large man looked back at her with a short article underneath. This was the man that was going to make senior year a little less complicated. At least they would have a band director again. Finally, she looked up.

"How can I help?" she asked him. She moved as close as could without feeling uncomfortable. She wanted to let him know she was on his side even if they didn't get along.

With that, the red headed boy picked up the backpack that had been resting beside him and pulled out more stand tunes to sort. A tiny tear escaped Madison's eyes as she caught the pink ribbon pinned to the center of Jason's bag. She wiped it away as Jason turned to look at her. A forced smile appeared on her face but there was no hiding the sadness in the air. After all, it had only been seven months.

**This is a story I have wanted to tell for a long time and it probably won't be short. I am going to try to update at least once a week. Reviews are always appreciated :) **


	2. Mr Reed

The band met on the parking lot the next day. Senior Amanda Banks twirled her curly blonde hair in her fingers as she stood lazily at attention. She watched fellow senior Will Rupert shift his weight as he sized up the eight sousaphone players that stood before him. Everyone in the marching band knew that Will was the best tuba player and deserved this position as section leader. However, Amanda was also a Wind Symphony tuba player and had a big heart.

"Okay, first thing," Will said loudly and pointed to Amanda. "This is Amanda Banks. I know she is not officially a section leader but she is a great tuba player and a wonderful friend. So if she tells you to do something, you will treat her with the same respect you would give me or any other section leader. Is that clear?"

Seven of the tubas nodded vigorously but Amanda simply stared at Will with her mouth open. She had not expected this. Suddenly, she noticed a large man waddle his way on to the steaming pavement with Madison behind him. That must be him. She shook her head.

"Are you okay 'Manda?" Will asked her quietly enough so the other sousaphones could not hear.

Amanda smiled at him. She had always been intimidated by Will's talent but maybe it was time to let go of that. Perhaps she was missing out on a great friend. "I'm okay," she answered and pointed to Madison on the other side of the parking lot. "I just don't like to see Madison walking behind a man."

Will laughed. "Don't worry. Madison won't let that go on for too long." He put his hand on her shoulder. "And I certainly won't let it happen in this section." Amanda smiled back at him.

Meanwhile, across the parking lot, Madison stood next Jason waiting for direction from the large man that stood before them.

"I've never had more than one drum major before," Mr. Reed, the new band director, told the pair. Jason and Madison exchanged glances. As much as Madison didn't like Jason, she couldn't image facing the podium alone. "The pair of you will conduct the entire show for me and Tom at the end of the week and I will divide it accordingly." Jason opened his mouth to protest but Madison stepped on his foot.

"Yes, sir," she told him confidently.

"Alright then," he said nodding. "Go join your band. Help them with fundamentals while I warm them up."

"Madison!" Jason began, shaking his foot, "Mrs. Anderson said last year that –"

"I don't want to get into that right now," she cut him off. "Let's just see what happens on Friday."

Madison started to approach the drumline but Jason steered her toward the clarinets. "No. I don't want you anywhere near Luster at practice. Don't give me that look Madison. I know you have been snogging him all summer. Go be with your section instead."

"I have not been snogging Eric all summer!" Madison protested but at that very moment, the pair caught the drum captain's eye. Eric Luster stood with his snare drum in the center of the line. He tossed his blonde hair out of his eyes and his strong arms glistened with sweat. He winked at Madison.

"Eric, stop hitting on Jason!" Tina Lopez yelled from the bass line behind the snares. Jason glared at Madison.

"Charming friends you have," Jason told Madison. Madison snorted and provocatively walked in front of the drumline before joining the clarinet section for the warm up session. The underclassmen cat called her.

After the morning rehearsal, Mr. Reed instructed the drum majors to set up chairs in the auditorium for the afternoon music practice. Jason disappeared before Madison could even open her mouth. Instead, she returned to the school with her arms linked with Patrick and Jesse. When they reached the school, the clarinet section leaders waved goodbye and she reached for the side door that lead to the band room. A hand reached out and pulled her inside the empty band room. The drum captain pinned her up against the wall and pressed his lips to her neck.

"Eric! Someone is going to see us!" she said trying to sound serious.

"You mean the snogging police?" he teased and moved his head to kiss the other side of her neck.

"No!" she whispered with an unsteady voice as he made contact with her skin. She pushed hard on his shoulders to get him to stop. He stepped back for a moment and then leaned in again for another kiss. "I want to be a serious drum major."

His face stopped moving toward her and his eyes narrowed. He wrapped her tightly in his arms. "Maddie, don't you even worry about that. I've got your back. I promise I'll keep the kissing to a minimum in front of the troops. You are an incredibly strong woman and the band loves you. You're going to be great."

Madison looked down at her feet, embarrassed by his words but he caught her chin with two fingers. He pulled her face up to meet his eyes. His mouth captured hers in a deep kiss. When he released her, she stumbled out of the band room to meet Jason in the auditorium.

She found him already setting up the chairs in the auditorium. Madison came in slowly and watched as he carefully placed the chairs around the podium. Quietly, she made her way behind the stage and turned on the radio. Music filled the room and Madison watched as Jason froze.

"Madison, I don't have time for this foolishness," he told her.

"Well sorry Jason, we don't all listen to Mahler every day of the week," she mocked him.

"I'm not talking about the bloody music," he spat back. "I am not going to let all this boy drama get in the way of winning. I want to be the best this year. No excuses. I want to win. For her."

Madison took a step toward him. "Jason, I want to win for her too. Eric knows who he is dating. He knows who I am. Plus, he has to keep a straight face as drum captain, too. I won't let him distract me," she said and tried to reach for his hand. Jason snatched it away.

"And Patrick? I reckon you should sort that out as well," he argued. Madison stepped back.

"What about Patrick? Patrick is my best friend! You know that! How dare you –" but Madison was cut off by the arrival of the band. She threw her hands in the air and went to take a seat in the auditorium. She and Jason were going to listen as Mr. Reed started to teach the band the music.

Meanwhile, sophomore Charlie Rupert found a seat at the end of the row of seats set out for the trombones.

"Rups!" Charlie whipped his head around at the sound of his shortened last name. But he didn't see anyone nearby. Instead, he saw a girl embrace his other brother and ask him about his summer. "Figures," Charlie thought out loud. Charlie had been living in Will's shadow his whole life. He was hoping that this year would be different. Now that he was no longer a freshman, maybe the girls would finally give him a chance.

"Rups!" Charlie ignored his name this time. "Rups!" Charlie put his trombone up to his mouth and ran a scale. So many people must want to talk to Will. He can't even make time for all of them. "Charlie!" He finally looked up. The trombone section leaders stood over him with sheet music in their hands.

"Goodness, Charlie," Amy said. "Must be loud in here! Here's your music. Do you want to move up a few chairs?"

Charlie looked down as his part. It was the first trombone part. Usually, first part was reserved for the seniors and a few of the best juniors. Charlie opened his mouth to protest.

"Look man, I know you don't really believe it," Chris cut him off, "but you are in the Wind Symphony. So like it or not, you have to hang out with us and listen to college application drama all year."

Charlie found his new seat next to Amy. Chris sat on the other side of her in the first chair. They watched Tom come into the auditorium and sit with Madison and Jason. Chris commented that he hoped the school would appoint Tom as the new associate band director. With over 300 kids in the entire band program, the program could support two directors. Mr. Bins had been the associate for five years and was primarily responsible for the Symphonic Band and the two jazz bands. But when he was passed over for the head director position, he had held regular band auditions for the next year and then disappeared without a goodbye. Rumor had it, he wasn't even teaching music anymore.

Mr. Reed cleared his throat to begin. "Alright guys, before we get started, I need to let you all know that I have one major goal. We are going to be an honor band again this year. I am not exactly sure what happened last year but I know that you are one of the best bands in the country. We're going to work as hard as we have to. We're going to get this band back up to the caliber it was in previous years. Let's run a B flat major scale to warm up."

A loud noise came from the auditorium seats. Charlie looked out to see Jason shaking his hand and Madison holding her foot. They must have taken their frustration out of the auditorium seats. Amy snorted.

"At least they agree on something," Chris whispered.

Charlie thought about this for a moment. He knew about the honor band status well. Every year the band participated in two festivals, one in the fall and one in the spring. The marching band performed at the fall festival and the concert bands performed at the spring festival. Stonecroft had three concert bands: Concert Band, Symphonic Band, and Wind Symphony. At each festival, the ensembles received a rating of 1 to 5. If the marching band and the top ensemble from a school both received a rating of 1 or "Superior," the band was named an honor band. It was not really a competition as any number of bands in the state could be named an honor band.

A half hour later, the drum majors were still sitting with their arms crossed. Mr. Reed had started to work with the woodwinds on a specific section of the music. Charlie tapped Amy's stand and pointed to the drum majors as if to ask what was wrong. Amy signed and lowered her voice so she wouldn't interrupt the rehearsal.

"You remember Mr. Bins? Well they were supposed to get one of the music supervisors to take over the Wind Symphony after we lost her. You know those retired band directors that help out all over the county? But Mr. Bin insisted that he take over. I think he just wanted the job. I don't know if the supervisors would have been better but Mr. Bins didn't give us much time to grieve. No one said anything but there seemed to be some unspoken code at Festival in March," Amy slowed down the story and sat back in her chair. "I guess we just decided we weren't going to be an honor band without her."

"I don't regret it," Chris added. "Not for a second."

Amy smiled and put her hand over his. "Me neither. And by the looks of it, neither do Madison and Jason."

"Trombones!" Mr. Reed said, turning his attention away from the woodwinds. "Who is playing this solo?" He waved part of the sheet music in the air.

"Amy and I are going to take turns," Chris told him. "We'll divide games and competitions equally. We've already worked out how it will work with the drill."

"No," Mr. Reed said stubbornly. "I want one soloist."

"Well that's too bad," Chris retorted.

Mr. Reed glared at the trombones. The band members all stared at Chris. The air in the auditorium was so still that the sound of the air condition seemed to echo in the room.

"Mrs. Anderson wants us both to play it," Chris told him. Mr. Reed opened his mouth but Tom had jumped up on the stage. He told Mr. Reed something quietly but Charlie felt this battle wasn't over.

Mr. Reed turned his attention back to the rest of the band as Amy's phone buzzed in her pocket. She jumped and jammed her hand into her pocket to turn it off. They didn't need any more attention. However, curiosity got the better of her moments later. She fished the phone out of her pocket and put it on the stand.

"Does Maddie know yet?" The message from Amanda stung Amy. Amanda gave her a frustrated look from the tuba section. Amanda hated keeping secrets. Amy's phone buzzed again.

"If Patrick doesn't tell her by Friday, I'm doing it." Tina had sent the message to both Amy and Amanda. The group of four had been friends since middle school. Amy knew Madison would be more upset with them than at Patrick if she knew they kept it a secret. Chris leaned over.

"You better tell her soon. I heard Jason and some of the trumpets know. They won't realize it is a secret." Chris whispered.

Charlie watched the pair carefully. He didn't know what was wrong with Madison but was sure he would find out soon enough. He had been hoping for an adventure all summer but spending the year with the seniors in the Wind Symphony might be more than he bargained for.

**More characters and drama! Yay! I'd love to hear what you guys think! :) **


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